Ashanti is setting the record straight about her alleged relationship with Irv Gotti. “Let’s clear this up,” Ashanti told Angie Martinez on the IRL podcast on October 26. “We dealt with each other, but was Irv my boyfriend? Was I his girlfriend? Never. Irv had several girlfriends, so I’m a little confused by the label and the description.”

Murder Inc. Records founder Irv Gotti has died at 54. He helped launch careers for talent such as Ashanti, DMX and Ja Rule.

Irv Gotti, the music executive, songwriter and producer behind the reign of hip-hop and R&B stars Ja Rule and Ashanti in the early 2000s, has died. Gotti, the music mogul who co-founded Murder Inc. Records,